St. Louis police officer gives special gift to special young friend

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By Katherine Hessel

St. Louis, MO — On a hot St. Louis summer day, Shay Gillespie took her 9-year-old son, Diggy, and his older brother downtown to hand out water and snacks to the homeless.

While they were there, two officers stopped by and offered to accompany them to make sure there were no problems. Gillespie said Diggy has Down syndrome and a lot of people are drawn to him, but in this instance Diggy was immediately drawn to Officer Chad Cross.

The family and officers spent the afternoon together and when it was time to go, Cross went back to his car to get something for Diggy.

Cross spent eight years in the Marines and did three deployments abroad. That afternoon, he gave Diggy the watch he wore while he was deployed in Iraq.

"That watch meant a lot to me. It was special to me and that young man was special to me right away, so I wanted to do that for him," Cross said.

Gillespie says Diggy was ecstatic.

"It definitely impacted both of my kids and that's what you want in life," she said. "You want things to impact them in a positive way."

A mixed martial art fighter and former Marine, Cross' exterior looks tough, but what he really enjoys is getting to know people to give them a positive police experience.

His friends said they are not surprised by this gesture.

"I've known Chad for years. I know that he did a tour in Iraq and part of his mission was to win over the hearts and minds of individuals and that is no different than some of his jobs everyday here on the streets of St. Louis," said Cross' mentor and friend, Bryan Guidry.